Dragon's Breath
by Lucency
Summary: When she was a child she was taught that with her brother at her side, she'd always be strong. [OC-Insert]
1. Burn

_What do you do when your existence is defined by another person?_

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_KA-BOOM. _

I shielded my eyes against the dust cloud formed from the explosion, watching the ball shoot through the clouds and disappear. While the others talked about how excited they were to use their quirks, I studied Katsuki Bakugo. He was someone to look out for.

The ball landed several seconds later, on the opposite end of the field. Katsuki laughed as Eraser Head showed us his score. "You see that, sidekicks? If you thought you had any chance of claiming the top spot, think again."

"What are you thinking?" Shoto asked as Eraser Head lectured Katsuki for his arrogance, then the rest of the class for undermining the importance of the test.

"He scored the highest on the test the others had to take, right?"

Eraser Head promised to expel the student that performed the worst, but it was little more than white noise in my ears. For people like me, Shoto and Katsuki, the threat didn't mean much. All I had to do was not come in last place. Easy.

Shoto followed my gaze and nodded. "There's no point in talking to someone like him."

Eraser Head called Mashirao Ojiro to go next.

I smiled. "Who said I wanted to talk to him?"

Shoto lifted his shoulders. "He won't agree to a fight."

"And if I attack him first? What then?"

"Then we'll be expelled and labeled as Villains."

"I didn't know you were planning to attack Katsuki as well, Shoto."

"You'll be a Villain and I'll be a Hero," he corrected.

"You'd choose the Heroes over your own flesh and blood?"

Shoto sighed. "Do you think he'd still be so arrogant if I showed him he was wrong?"

"What—Shoto, is that a _challenge _I hear in your voice?"

"I don't like being called a sidekick."

I patted his arm. "No one does."

"Not many people can do something about it."

I pretended to look shocked. "_Arrogance, _too? Shoto, what's gotten into you?"

"Shoto Todoroki, you're next," Eraser Head called before he could answer.

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_"Why do you want to be a Hero, Hada?" _

_Because Shoto wants to be Hero, _I thought.

Instead, what came out was, _"I want to be like All-Might and help lots of people!"_

It was what Shoto wanted, so why couldn't it be what I wanted too?

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"Hadetsu Todoroki?"

I blinked at Eraser Head.

He looked irritated. "Are you with us, or should I go ahead and mark that you failed this exercise?"

I stood alone, the others gathered off to the side. All of them were watching me, some amused, others impatient. Shoto had his arms crossed. I stepped up behind the starting line and picked up the ball, squeezing it in my fist. I thought about using my Quirk.

"Is it okay if I ask what the lowest score was?"

Eraser Head stared, then consulted his clipboard. "Twelve-point-three meters."

Easy. I took a step back, wound my arm, and threw the ball as hard as I could. I pretended not to notice Eraser Head's surprise, watching the ball as it bounced around the twenty-five-meter mark, rolling a few more feet before it came to a stop.

Eraser Head glanced at the distance measurer in his hand. "Twenty-nine point-six meters."

…

"6.59 seconds."

I stretched my arms above my head at the finish line, turning away so the others couldn't see my smile.

…

I wobbled as I landed on the edge of the sandbox, arms flailing a bit, but managed not to fall backwards. I was quite proud of that.

…

"Would you look at that? Eighteenth place." I shaded my eyes with my hand, leaning forward to look at the leaderboard Eraser Head held up from the back of the crowd.

Shoto put his hands in his pockets and turned away as Katsuki glared at him, hands clenched at his sides. I was the only one who saw Shoto's smile.

"Well, that was easy," I said. Izuku Midoriya was in twentieth place.

"You and ice-boy over there think you can make fools out of me, huh?" Katsuki fumed, turning his glare on Izuku. "Why did you hide your Quirk? Did you think it was funny, laughing behind my back all this time?"

Izuku took a step back as Katsuki stamped towards him. "Wait, kaachan! It wasn't like that!"

I smacked Shoto's chest, fake indignant. "See what you did, Shoto? You broke him."

He shook his head. "That doesn't have anything to do with me."

"He said 'ice-boy', so this is obviously all your fault."

Katsuki lifted his hand, sparks appearing above his palm. "You must have thought it was hilarious-"

Cloth wrapped around his waist, stopping him in place. The other end was around Eraser Head's wrist. He looked annoyed. "I don't care what's going on between you and Midoriya. One more step and I'll expel you here and now, Bakugo."

Katsuki only looked angrier. He ducked his head and yanked the bindings off him, stalking off in the opposite direction.

"Everyone else, go home. We'll go over the results in more detail tomorrow," Eraser Head kept his eyes on Bakugo for a few seconds before he turned away, waving us off.

"Sir! Wait!" It was Tenya, hand raised. "What about expelling the person who came in last place?"

Izuku cringed.

"Oh yeah," Eraser Head shrugged. "That was a lie." He kept walking as the class broke into pandemonium. "And Izuku? Go see Recovery Girl about your injuries."

* * *

**A/N: Fair warning: This will not be like my other stories. If you expect this story to drastically alter the plot, that probably won't happen. This story is a runaway plot-bunny and I have no idea where its going (unlike Whirlpool, Axis, or Starlight) or how to stop it.**

**Hadetsu is _not _someone from our world. **

**Also, because there's always one, I'm aware that this isn't exactly how the test went down in canon. I'm working off memory and the wikia. **


	2. Flame

I leaned against the doorframe, slipping my shoes off and dropping them on the mat next to Shoto's. Shoto was already half-way up the stairs.

Fuyumi peeked around the corner from the other room. "Oh!" She stepped into the entryway, still carrying her schoolbag. "I didn't know you and Shoto would be home so soon. How was it?"

Shoto didn't stop or look in her direction. She deflated.

I waved and she forced a smile at me. "Where's dad?"

Fuyu's eyes flicked to the stairs, but Shoto was already gone. "Off doing Hero work, I suppose. He's always so busy, you know? But maybe he'll come back early tonight so we can eat dinner as a family."

I hummed but didn't answer. Fuyu wanted something impossible. We could never be a family. Natsuo hated our father so much that he rarely came home from college, let alone kept in contact.

I smiled, "See you later, Fuyu!" I took the steps two at a time, only stopping at the top when Fuyu cleared her throat.

"Hadestsu, you think…" she trailed off, shuffling in place. "Do you think you could talk to Shoto for me?"

I trailed a finger along the banister and looked at the dust that came off. "Sorry, Fuyu. That's not something I'm willing to do right now." I left without another word, turning into Shoto's room.

He was waiting, arms crossed as he leaned back against the wall. He didn't look up as he spoke, "Why does it matter where that man is?"

I flopped down on the bed, spreading my arms out. I could hear the crackle of ice as it crept across the floor. Shoto was losing his cool.

"The same reason why you want to know where our mother is," I answered.

Shoto was quiet for a few seconds. "You should hate him."

"You should hate her," I shot back.

Shoto stared at me, but I met his gaze head on and didn't look away. "Agree to disagree," he said, glancing away.

I smiled. "Are we done fighting?"

Shoto pulled his computer chair back and sat, leaving his likeness behind in ice on the wall. "That wasn't a fight," he said. "It was a heated discussion."

"You did seem pretty heated," I teased.

"Not because of you," he murmured. "After everything he did, Fuyumi still wants us to be a 'family'. She doesn't have the right to ask that of me," he continued, louder.

I considered that. "Who would win in a fight? Me or Bakugo?"

Shoto paused typing. "Bakugo," he said.

"_What—_do you have no faith in me at all, Shoto?" I asked, mock wounded.

"I know how you fight. You won't take it seriously," he said with the utmost confidence.

I gasped, throwing a pillow at him.

He didn't move as it bounced off his head. "While we're on the subject, look at this. I thought his name sounded familiar."

I stood behind him, skimming through the article. The picture attached was of Bakugo, in the middle of being swallowed by a sludge Villain. A second picture was of All-Might, standing with a freed, sullen-looking Bakugo. "That's him," I agreed. "Who else could look so angry while being swallowed alive?"

"Midoriya was there too." Shoto scrolled down, showing a third picture of All-Might and Bakugo from a different angle. I pushed on Shoto's chair and leaned close, my nose almost touching the screen before I saw Izuku's pixelated form in the background.

"Would you look at that," I said as Shoto held onto the desk to keep his chair from flipping over. "Katsuki _did _make it seem like they had history, ice-boy."

"Don't call me that."

…

"Hey! You're Hadetsu Todoroki right?"

I stopped on the bottom step of the school building, glancing back. Izuku Midoriya was standing a few feet away, hands clenched around the straps of his backpack. A few other students gave us curious looks as they moved past.

"Maybe," I said. "That's Todoroki, at least." I hooked a thumb at Shoto.

Shoto glanced at me, then Izuku. He continued up the stairs.

"Right," Izuku said, looking away. "You don't mind if I ask you about yesterday, do you?"

I waved him on.

Izuku's shoulders rose "That exam yesterday, it was for Mr. Aizawa to test the potential of our Quirks. But you didn't use yours at all." He met my gaze. "Why?"

"Easy. I didn't need to." I paused as I turned away. "It must've been scary, watching Katsuki fighting that sludge Villain."

Izuku swallowed hard. "W-What?"

I didn't turn around. "You were there, right?"

"Oh! All-Might was there to save us, so it worked out," he laughed nervously.

_Us. _He'd been more involved than I thought. "Mm-hmm. Goodbye, Izuku Midoriya." I met Shoto at the top of the staircase.

Shoto glanced at Izuku. "What did he want?"

I patted him. "Don't worry. You don't have to freeze him, dearest Shoto."

Shoto turned away and I followed him into the school.


	3. Simmer

All-Might stood with his hands on his waist, his back to a tall, gray building. "We're going to be doing something a little different today," he announced. "You'll be separated into two groups of two. The first group will be playing the role of Heroes, and the second will be acting as Villains,"

"The Villains will be guarding a nuclear weapon on an unknown floor in that building." All-Might pointed at it, nodding at us. "The goal of the Heroes is to secure the weapon before they can use it. If the Heroes capture the Villains or secure the weapon before time runs out, they win. If the Villains manage to keep the weapon untouched until time runs out or capture the Heroes, they win. Got it?"

A chorus of 'yes, sir's' and 'got it's' echoed around me.

I stared at All-Might. The number one hero, the symbol of peace around the world, was a teacher at U.A. And _our _teacher on top of it. The others were amazed, excited, hanging onto everything he said, but I felt...

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_"You are my greatest weapons against All-Might," he said, grinning as he patted me and Shoto on the head. _

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_. _

_. _

I felt…

_._

_. _

_._

_"Why do you want to be a Hero, Hada?" she'd asked. _

_._

_._

_._

I shook my head. I was happy that Shoto was able to meet the Hero he idolized in person.

"Each pair will be chosen by random lottery," All-Might said, pulling me from my thoughts as he shook a bucket filled with white scraps of paper. "All right, here we go!" He picked two scraps and held them out so we could read the names. "Izuku Midoriya and Uraraka Ochaco will be Heroes! Annd," He plucked two more. "Katsuki Bakugo and Tenya Iida will be Villains! Do your best! I'll be communicating with you through these,"

All-Might handed them earpieces, then gave them a thumbs-up. "Villains get a two-minute head start," he said. "I'll announce who wins. The rest of us will be watching from the control room!" He gestured for us to follow him as Katsuki and Tenya headed into the building.

Uraraka and Izuku stayed back, putting in their earpieces and talking in low voices.

I stared at Izuku for a few seconds before I headed after the class.

"Good luck, Izuku Midoriya," I said, knowing he wasn't listening. Katsuki was still in a bad mood from the day before and had spent the morning glaring at Izuku.

Shoto was waiting. His Hero costume was a white shirt and pants, with brown chest armor, white books, and silver goggles.

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_"Hada, look!"_

_It was a crayon drawing of All-Might, except he colored the boots black and changed the red on his bodysuit to white. He grinned, missing his front teeth. "This is my costume!" _

_I looked up from my scribbled drawing of a horse. "You should add a mask," I said thoughtfully, tapping a brown crayon against my chin. "Gran Torino has one, and he trained All-Might, didn't he?" _

_His eyes went wide, and he nodded rapidly. "Be right back." _

_On the couch, mother covered her mouth to stifle her giggles. _

_._

_._

_._

Shoto burned that sketch a long time ago, but he kept the mask.

"That Bakugo is something," Shoto admitted.

I blinked at the screen, just as Katsuki blew a hole in the side of the building and All-Might yelled into the mic. The screen below showed Izuku Midoriya, parts of his costume in pieces. Uraraka was on the right screen, swinging a pillar at Tenya.

"Zero-gravity, huh?" I remembered her from the day before. She received a score of infinity on the ball-throw, hadn't she?

Izuku punched up suddenly, just before he and Katsuki were about to clash again, blowing a hole through several floors above him. Because he diverted his power at the last-minute, he took the full brunt of Katsuki's blast.

The rest of the class watched and waited to see Izuku through the smoke, but I looked at Uraraka, and the way Tenya stumbled as the floor collapsed between them. He barely dodged the projectiles in time, but in the opposite direction of the weapon.

It was left undefended as Uraraka leaped across the chasm.

"Izuku Midoriya has a lot of power, doesn't he?" I mused as All-Might announced that the Heroes were the winners.

"His power is kind-of like All-Might's, isn't it?" Shoto was looking at our teacher.

I hadn't noticed. "Hmm. What are you thinking, Shoto?"

Shoto was silent as All-Might called for a team of medics to take Izuku to Recovery Girl. "I don't know yet," he said. "I have to see him fight again."

"I can help you with that-"

"You can't fight everyone, Hada."

"_Everyone?_" I repeated, mock offended. "Two people. _Two people. _That's it."

"That was one explosive match!" All-Might said, facing the class. "The strategy employed by Midoriya and Ochaco was smart, but reckless." He held up a finger. "Can anyone say why?"

"Our classmates," Shoto stressed as Momo answered him.

"I won't kill them," I said.

Shoto sighed.

"Shoto Todoroki and Mezo Shoji as Heroes!" All-Might announced. "Annnd," he shook the bucket. "Mashirao Ojiro and Toru Hagakure as Villains!"

I thought about it. "Fifteen seconds," I settled on. "For every second after that, you owe me five-hundred yen."

"The match will take place in another building we prepared for this. Follow me!" All-Might sauntered out of the room.

Shoto didn't respond.

I covered my mouth, mock shocked. "After all that arrogance yesterday, the great Shoto Todoroki doesn't think he's up to the challenge?"

Shoto gave me a quick glance. "Fifteen seconds," he agreed.

I grinned.

…

It took exactly ten seconds for Shoto to freeze the entire building. Mezo stood outside, shading his eyes as he looked at all the ice.

"Damn him," I muttered, kicking a rock as the class gasped and broke into whispers.

It took longer for him to reach the floor the weapon was on and secure it, but that didn't really count. The match was already over. All-Might announced that the Heroes had won, and Shoto still had all his money when he came back out.

"Erm," All-Might started.

Shoto stopped in the doorway.

"Do you think you could take care of the ice, Shoto? They may be Villains, but they're still your classmates."

"I'll take care of it," I said with a smile, striding forward.

I could feel several pairs of eyes on me as I put a hand against the closest patch of ice. Heat burst to life beneath my palm and spread up the wall, melting everything in its path. Steam rose from the building.

"Ten seconds," Shoto said, walking past me.

I stuck my tongue out at him. I focused on keeping the temperature high enough to melt the ice, but not enough to burn. It took sixteen seconds to unfreeze the whole building. Mashirao and Toru came out a minute later, avoiding Shoto's gaze as they passed.

"Good work everyone!" All-Might said, patting the former Villains a little too hard on the back. "Next up! Mina Ashido and Rikido Sato as Heroes!" he announced, pointing to the two. "The Villains are…" he rummaged around the bucket, drawing out the suspense.

"Denki Kaminari and Hadetsu Todoroki!"

"Cold Soba for a week," Shoto said, amending his terms. "If you lose."

"I see," I smiled at him. "It's too bad that you'll have to go hungry for a week, Shoto."


	4. Inferno

I stretched my arms above my head. "Mah, I wish I was a Hero."

"Too good to be a Villain?" Denki asked, sitting on the other side of the weapon, chin propped up on his palm.

It had been over a minute since All-Might announced the start of the match and the 'Heroes' still hadn't made their move. "No," I answered, tugging at the edge of a red glove. "I wanted to end this fast, like Shoto did."

Denki paused. "The thing he did with ice, you can do that too?"

"Yep," I chirped. It was a third of a lie, so small it might as well have been the truth.

"Man, you two are scary," he said.

"No worries," I assured him. "We're teammates, remember?"

Denki did not look reassured.

"What's your Quirk again?" I asked him, leaning back against the wall.

"You don't know my Quirk?" Denki asked. "Mr. Aizawa's quirk test was _yesterday._"

I tapped my chin. Yes, that was true. "What's your point?"

Denki didn't seem to have an answer for me intentionally missing the point. He held his hand out. "It's electrification," he explained, and I watched sparks appear between his fingers. "I can use it to communicate with you through your earpiece, if we get separated."

"Ooh," I said in approval.

Denki clenched his hand and the electricity disappeared. "What about you? You were the only one who didn't use their Quirk yesterday, so I mean…" he trailed off, rubbing the back of his head.

I waited patiently for him to continue.

"You made it sound like it's as strong as Todoroki's, but you're not really Quirkless, are you?"

I considered this, "You know, Sparky, you're the second person to ask me a question like that today."

"Sparky?" he spluttered.

"If I didn't have a Quirk," I began. "How did I melt Shoto's ice?"

Denki looked uncomfortable, and I knew.

"You thought Shoto did that, didn't you?"

Denki picked at his pants.

"That would be sweet of him," I said without warmth. I preferred not to show off when I didn't have to, but I also hated being written off. I was full of contradictions.

"I didn't mean anything by it," Denki muttered.

"No one does, Sparky."

"My name is Denki Kaminari," he said, but not maliciously.

"Of course it is, Sparky."

Denki seemed to give up then, "Do you know what Mina and Rikido's Quirks are?"

I knew Mina's. I had a front row seat as she skated past me on a puddle of acid. "Rikido is the big guy, right?"

Denki paused. "There are two big guys."

Was there? I nodded, filing away the reminder to look for the other big guy after the exercise was over.

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_"You've proven to be nothing but useless," he'd hissed. _

_She cowered, shrinking away from the fire in his eyes. "They're barely children, Enji. Give them more time." _

_"Failure after failure," he'd grabbed her by the arm, ignoring her cry. "We'll just have to try again. Put those two with the rest."_

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And just like that, I was in a bad mood.

"It's Mina!"

I heard a shriek and saw a tuff of pink hair peeking at us from the doorway before she ducked out of sight.

Denki stood, cracking his knuckles. "Come on out," he said. "We already saw you. Just make it easy on yourselves and let us kick your butts already."

I pulled a red scarf up to cover my nose and mouth, then tugged my goggles over my eyes.

"Okay! Let's start the plan!" Mina shouted from outside.

I heard a roar, what sounded like a soda can being crushed, and Rikido sprinted into the room. Mina looked anxious as the ground cracked under him, but Rikido didn't falter, making a beeline for Denki.

"Go, Rikido!" she cheered from the doorway.

Sparks were visible around Denki's body. He grinned. "I'll try to go easy on you-" he faltered, glancing at me. It was just long enough for Rikido to grab him in a bear hug and lift him off the ground.

"Me and you, huh?" I asked, looking at Mina.

"Wait for it," Mina said with a wink.

Denki squeezed his eyes shut and a dense field of electricity suddenly surrounded the two. It was so bright that I couldn't look at it.

Rikido stumbled back with a groan, away from the weapon. He fell to his knees as the light faded but didn't let go of Denki. The concrete cracked and caved inward.

"Come on!" Denki panted.

"Sorry, Denki," Mina said. She smiled and waved as the ground collapsed, sending them both tumbling down into the dark.

I took a step back as the entire floor between me and Mina broke apart. The undersides and walls were wet with her acid.

"So close! We almost got ya, Hadetsu," she said, her hands filling with acidic balls of liquid. "And here's part 2 of our super-cool plan!" She tossed the balls not at me, but at the concrete around me, slowly decaying the floor.

"Give up the warhead and I'll let you go free, you evil Villain," Mina said. She was having fun playing the Hero, giggling as she forced me to back-up into the warhead.

"I've had enough," I decided.

Mina paused. "Huh?"

I smiled and took a step forward, at the very edge of her acid circle, "I want to fight. For real." Flames exploded from my body, filling the entire room in seconds. It was as if the walls had been doused in gasoline.

Mina stumbled back, her acid balls dropping to the floor as she broke into a coughing fit.

I concentrated the flames behind me into a protective circle around the warhead and sat, letting my feet hang over the edge. I heard the acid around me hiss and evaporate into a noxious steam.

"Three minutes left," All-Might announced.

That was okay. I already won.

"Thanks for getting Denki out of the way," I chirped as Mina stumbled out of sight.

She reappeared half a minute later, her pants ripped, the torn fabric wrapped tightly around her nose and mouth. Her eyes watered as she chucked a ball of acid at me. In response, I increased the intensity of the heat, sucking all the moisture out of the air.

The acid-ball evaporated before it left her hand and Mina choked, swiping away the fumes.

I swung my legs back and forth. "You should get out of here," I advised.

I was born with a certain level of resistance to my flames, and my Hero costume amplified that. I could stand in the fire, but I couldn't breathe through a room full of smoke. The scarf was made to filter the air around me. The goggles kept my eyes from watering. The red and white bodysuit was to regulate my body temperature, because even I had a resistance limit.

Mina made one last attempt to throw an acid-ball at me, then fled down the hall.

"Time!" All-Might called. "The Villains win!"

I stood and, taking a page out of Endeavor's book, concentrated flames at my feet. I jumped, creating a blast of fire to propel me over the gap. I looked back, at the blackened walls, the crumbling remains of the platform holding the warhead up.

It broke apart as I left the room and the warhead fell through the smoke and disappeared.

…

I found Denki on the floor below that.

I stopped at the bottom of the staircase when I saw him crawling on the floor. He looked at me, face covered in soot and drool. He gave me a thumbs-up and then waddled in a circle. He coughed, choking on the smoke in the air, but didn't stop.

This wasn't the same Denki that had been with me earlier. He didn't even seem to notice the smoke he was breathing in, the way he trembled from the heat. He would die here, if I left him.

Was this the side-effect of using his power too much? This dim version of himself?

Would a Hero have stopped to process the situation before acting? Wouldn't a Hero have gotten Denki out first and thought about the _why _later?

.

.

.

_"Why do you want to be a Hero, Hada?" _

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.

Denki collapsed. I held my breath, undid my scarf, and went over to him. He was laying on his side, staring into space while giving the air a thumbs-up. I fixed the scarf around his nose and mouth, then tugged on his arm, gesturing for him to get up.

He giggled.

I picked up a small piece of debris and threw it at him in silent rage. It bounced off his knee, but he didn't notice that either.

I straightened and tried another tactic. I held out my hand, the best invitation I could give him without words.

Denki stretched a hand out and mimicked me, his palm out flat. I grabbed his hand and headed for the next staircase, dragging low-wattage behind me like a dead carcass.

He stood as I pulled him down the stairs, a frown on his face. This version of himself didn't like being knocked against each step on the way down as much as a normal person. Good.

I ran out of breath somewhere between the second and the first floor. I would've taken my scarf back, as low-wattage probably wouldn't notice the effects of the smoke until he collapsed again, but a sticky thread of drool came off with it, so I let him keep it.

He made a curious noise as we neared the entrance.

"Yes, Sparky," I said, deliberately slow. "Sunlight. You're favorite." My throat burned.

"We were separated when we fell," Rikido said from somewhere outside, sounding worried.

"Oh no," it was Mina. "I didn't see him on my way down. I hope he's okay."

"What if he's hurt? I can't believe Hadetsu caused those massive flames!" Uraraka said.

I stepped out into the light and immediately dropped to my knees, coughing into my arm.

There was a commotion, and I could hear All-Might trying to maintain order as Shoto stepped around the gasps and relieved sighs and crouched next to me.

"I won," I managed to say, "I should've bet something."

Shoto didn't immediately answer. Ice crackled under his feet. I looked back. Denki had turned around and attempted to go back into the building. His feet were rooted in ice.

He gave Shoto a thumbs-up.

"Are you all right, young Hadetsu?" All-Might asked.

I attempted to answer, then broke into another coughing fit.

"She's fine," Shoto answered for me, his voice colder than usual.

I laughed, a croaking, broken sound. I would've teased him about his tone, but the laugh had taken the last of my speaking ability.

All-Might didn't look convinced, so I gave him the universal sign that I was okay. I gave him a thumbs-up.


	5. Match

Across the table, Shoto poked at the gyutan on his plate. He didn't frown, but it was clear he was unhappy. Bets were a dangerous thing, weren't they?

I smiled. He had been looking forward to that soba. Instead, a take-out bag was flat on the table, a packed carton of gyutan on top of it. There were other cartons filled with the remains of rice and tsukemono.

"Something wrong, Shoto?" I teased him, picking a piece off his plate with my chopsticks.

Shoto ate some of the rice and deliberately looked away.

Fuyu sat beside me. She smiled tentatively at our back-and-forth, wary of another confrontation with Shoto. She glanced at the empty seat at the head of the table, and her eyes fell to her plate.

Dad was supposed to be there. Or so Fuyu thought.

Three other chairs at the table sat empty. Natsuo, Toya, Mother.

"How was class?" Fuyu asked carefully. It was a safe topic. One that wouldn't end with Shoto leaving the table.

She looked at me first, the more agreeable sibling.

I swallowed and decided to indulge her. Recovery Girl had taken care of the worst damage done to my throat. Still, she told me to go easy on talking for the rest of the day.

"Shoto almost killed our classmates," I said, popping a pickle in my mouth.

Fuyu stared at him. Shoto's chopsticks stilled.

"I didn't," he said.

"You should've seen them," I went on, waving my own chopsticks at Fuyu. "After the exercise, they couldn't even look Shoto in the eye after what happened."

"That's not what happened," he insisted.

"It's all true," I said.

"You're exaggerating."

"Did I exaggerate the part about them avoiding you once it was over because of how much trauma you caused them?"

Instead of answering, Shoto ate a few of the vegetables on his plate. "It wasn't because of trauma," he finally said.

"Then why don't you enlighten us, dearest Shoto?"

Shoto seemed to catch on to what I was doing. His eyes flicked to Fuyu, who gave him a little wave in return.

"If you don't, you're admitting to Villainy, Shoto."

He sighed but began to talk, setting the story straight on what happened. As he described the exercise, Fuyu stopped him to ask about the details he left out. She would ask about the size of the building, and he would answer to the best of his ability.

Once they had a back-and-forth going, I slipped out of the conversation. I ate quietly, content to watch the two of them.

Eventually, Shoto simply created a small replica of the building out of ice to avoid any more questions. He set it on the table in front of Fuyu as he moved onto the point of the story.

Fuyu was delighted.

I picked up my dishes once I was done and left them there. Somehow, the conversation had moved to Shoto telling Fuyu about the bet he'd lost.

…

As Eraser Head announced that Izuku Midoriya would be the Class President, followed by Momo Yaoyorozu and Katsuki Bakugo as co-vice Presidents, the class erupted into shouts. Sero was one of the loudest voices, demanding to know who voted for Bakugo.

Shoto turned to me.

"Yes, dearest Shoto?" I asked sweetly.

"Why?" was all he asked.

I lifted my shoulders as a shocked Izuku took to the front. Standing beside him, Momo's disappointment was tangible.

Katsuki swept his eyes over the class and grinned at all the incredulous faces staring back at him. "Seems not all of you are the idiots I thought you were," he sniffed. "At least one of you has the sense to see that I belong at the top."

Shoto turned further in his chair to look at me.

"I thought it would be fun," I said with a smile. "And it is."

"You're feeding his ego," he said.

"Should I have voted for you instead? That way you can stand tall and proud at the top of the food chain?" I teased.

"I'm not that arrogant."

I nodded, "Keep telling yourself that, Shoto."

…

When Bakugo, pride bolstered by the vote, announced his presence in the lunchroom by claiming to be the Representative of Class 1-A, Shoto looked at me. He never said a word, but his eyes were judgmental.

Izuku Midoriya tried to protest the point, but it was lost in the sudden sea of glares and jeers from the rest of the school. Bakugo, proud peacock that he was, enjoyed every second of it.

I laughed and laughed.

When we were halfway through lunch, an alarm blared.

"There's a Villain in the school," someone shouted as several students began to stand. "A Villain got past the barrier!"

I sipped strawberry juice as a stampede erupted around us. Shoto stood, tense, but didn't join the crowd of tightly packed bodies filling the hallway.

"Hada," he said tersely when he saw I was still sitting.

I waved my hands. "There's nowhere to go," I said. I gestured to the hallway, then the back exit, which was equally stuffed with people fighting to escape.

.

.

.

_"With Shoto by your side, you'll always be strong," he'd said. _

.

.

.

How could I not believe it?

Shoto didn't seem happy about our situation but sat back down. There was nothing we could do against the tidal wave of pure, unfiltered panic.

For a school full of Heroes, no one was acting like one.

.

.

.

_Was I still so different from them? _

_A Hero who didn't know how to be a Hero?_

.

.

.

"Do you think it's a Villain?" Shoto asked to pass the time. His eyes were on the packed hallway.

I swirled the remains of my juice. "No."

"They would have attacked by now," he agreed. "This panic would make it easy for them."

"A missed opportunity for a fight," I lamented.

"Too many people in the way," Shoto said, though he sounded distracted. By his thoughts or the potential disaster this could've turned into, I didn't know.

"This could be a test," I said, looking out the closest window.

"Or a false alarm," he added.

"You don't believe that," I took another sip.

Shoto glanced at me, then back at the other students. "No," he admitted. "But I don't know what this is, if it's not a test."

"Nothing we can do about it," I said airily. "All we can do is sit and wait until its over."

Even after Tenya revealed that it was only the media and calmed the crowd, Shoto was still skeptical.

* * *

**A/N: Gyutan - Grilled beef tongue.**

**Tsukemono - Preserved vegetables (usually pickled in salt, brine, or a bed of rice bran), served with rice as a side dish. **


	6. Pyre

Eraser Head tapped the board with a ruler, quieting the class long enough for him to speak, "I'm only going to say this once, so you better listen up. Today, we'll be using the USJ Facility as the training grounds for your lesson in Trial and Rescue. We'll need to take a bus to get there, so hurry and suit up."

…

I was on the bottom step of the bus when I felt a hand grab my arm. I turned. Sparky stood behind me, sporting a nervous smile. My old scarf was in his other hand, held out in offering.

"I was supposed to give this to you after class," Sparky said. "But I didn't have a chance before the false alarm."

I considered it. I had a new scarf made after losing it the day before. With the connections Endeavor provided at my fingertips, it had only taken a few hours. It was a lighter red than the last one but made of a stronger material. That was the claim made, anyway.

"No thanks," I chirped. "You can keep it."

He looked at the scarf in question, then up at the new one around my neck. He clearly hadn't been expecting me to say no, new scarf or not.

"Are you sure?" he asked.

"I am."

He lowered his hand, "Well, I owe you one. I would've died yesterday, if you didn't get me out of there."

"No," I disagreed. "All-Might would have saved you if I didn't."

Denki smiled a little. "Can't you just take the compliment, Hadetsu?"

I didn't immediately answer. I thought of the part he left out. How I hesitated before helping him. "I started the fire," I said, and Denki blinked. "You were only in danger because of me."

"I was in danger because I used up all my juice without thinking," he corrected. "And I didn't even knock out Rikido. All that, for nothing. It really sucked."

"I'm not a Hero," I said, and felt surprised at my own words.

"Yeah, so?" Denki asked. "Neither am I. My grades are bad, and I don't do well on tests. But that's why we're here, right? To learn _to be _Heroes. We're not there yet." He let go and took a step back. "Plus, I never said you were a Hero. You don't have to be a Hero to do a good thing."

I stared at him, then shook my head. "I underestimated you, Sparky."

"What, you thought I would _blame _you?"

"Not exactly," I said. It was less about what he thought about me, and more what I thought about myself.

"Get a move on," Eraser Head called from behind us. "We don't have all day."

I shot Sparky a smile and skipped up onto the bus. Shoto had saved a seat for me close to the front. "What a sweet older brother," I cooed.

Shoto propped his chin on his hand and looked out the window as a few eyes turned our way, refusing to give me the satisfaction of embarrassing him. But he was. I knew, because he didn't even ask why I'd taken so long.

…

"Welcome to the Unforeseen Simulation Joint Facility!" the rescue Hero, Thirteen, said. "I'll be assisting Mr. Aizawa. In this exercise, you'll use your Quirks to save people from dangerous situations, rather than using them in combat. Your powers are not meant to inflict harm. I hope you leave here today with the understanding that you're meant to help people."

"Do you think it's possible to fight a black hole?" I whispered to Shoto.

He looked at me.

"What—I'm just asking," I said.

"Thirteen _just said_-"

Before he could finish the thought, a portal opened in the plaza. Eraser Head's eyes went wide as dozens of people stepped out of it.

"All-Might isn't here," one at the front noted, scratching his neck. A hand obscured his face.

"He was supposed to be," another said, looking around.

"Thirteen," Eraser Head shouted as they spoke. "Protect and evacuate the students," he ordered.

"You think he'll show if we kill a few of the kids?"

Uraraka took a step back. "No way," she breathed.

"This isn't a random attack," Shoto thought aloud. "This was planned." The air around him already felt colder.

"They think we're easy," I muttered. It grated at me, like salt in an open wound.

Half the class was afraid, looking between the Villains and Eraser Head. The other half had their eyes on the Villains, lowering themselves into battle stances.

"Mr. Aizawa-"

"I'll be fine," Eraser Head interrupted Izuku's concern and leapt to meet the Villains head on without another word.

"I can't contact the U.A. Something is blocking the signal," Denki said.

I spun to face Shoto. "Make an ice path," I said. "They won't be able to catch you."

"Everyone move," Tenya shouted, but it was distant, background noise.

Shoto hesitated, eyes flicking to the exit.

"Now, Shoto," I hissed at him. We were heavily outnumbered and cut off from the school. I could see the predicament we were in wasn't a good one.

.

.

.

_"With your brother at your side you'll always be…"_

.

.

.

"No," Shoto said.

There was no time left to argue with him. As soon as the class started to move, a Villain made of a dark mist appeared in front of us.

"Hello, children. I'm afraid I can't let you do that," he said. "You see, I'm a part of an organization known as the League of Villains. We're here to kill All-Might, and for that to happen, you have to remain in here."

"Screw that," Katsuki shouted. He and Eijiro Kirishima leapt at the Villain, only for his body to disperse.

"Freeze him," I thought aloud. One touch, and he would be forced into a solid state.

Shoto took a step forward, and ice surged from his foot. Before it could reach the Villain, a cloud of mist shot out from his body, enveloping the area around us. Then it started pulling us in. Katsuki and Eijiro disappeared first.

I dug my feet in but couldn't fight the current pulling us closer. Shoto's ice broke apart, sucked into the void as he was lifted off his feet.

.

.

.

_"With your brother at your side…" _

.

.

.

"No!" I shouted.

I yanked off my scarf and held it out, letting the wind carry it to him. There was a second of relief when his hand closed around the other end.

"Hadetsu," Tenya called. "Take my hand!"

He was farther back, but still within the vortex's range. He was leaning forward, hand outstretched. I reached for it, even as my feet slid backwards.

.

.

.

_I could save us. _

.

.

.

I missed his fingers by millimeters.

.

.

.

_I could… _

.

.

.

I cried out as I was lifted into the air, making another attempt to grasp Tenya's hand.

I missed.

I was abruptly yanked backwards. I could feel the weight on the other end of the scarf. With Shoto with me, I could do anything. I wouldn't falter, even if we were being sent to our death.

I heard Tenya shout, then saw the flash of regret as he turned, using his Quirk to get farther away.


End file.
